Kraken has announced that it will enable staking on ETH 2.0 for its users.
Although validators need 32 ETH to run a node, Kraken users will be able to wager any amount of ETH on the exchange.
This creates the possibility for ETH holders to start earning passive income.
Kraken, the online cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that it allows its users to staker ETH through ETH 2.0’s Beacon Chain directly on the platform.
When it comes to the major cryptocurrency exchanges, Bitcoin Pro appears to be one of the first to announce the opportunity for its users.
At the time of this article’s publication, Kraken had recently activated the staking capability, marking a major milestone in the continued growth of ETH 2.0 .
A victory for the „small“ holder of ETH
Kraken will allow ETH users of all sizes to delegate their ETH for staking. With the launch of ETH 2.0 and the adoption of a Proof-of-Stake type transaction verification methodology, only users with a minimum of 32 ETH would be able to run a node, allowing them to validate the network.
Currently 32 ETH costs around $ 20,000 , a significant sum for the average crypto enthusiast. Kraken will allow users with any amount of Ethereum to stack them through the platform.
This will allow users to earn passive income on their farms. Users will receive rewards ranging from 5% to 17% Average Percentage Return (APY) per year and will receive rewards in ETH on a weekly basis.
Other benefits
Another feature that Kraken will be adding next week (but not for US or Canadian users) is the ability to trade staked ETH against non-staked ETH.
Once ETH is staked on the ETH 2.0 network, that ETH cannot be viewed or traded until the next phase of the project. However, Kraken will soon allow a special trading pair to bypass this limitation:
As a courtesy to clients wishing to exchange their staked ETH for non-staked ETH, Kraken will provide a special trading pair for this purpose until the option to remove the stake from ETH is available on the Ethereum network.
This will likely give users more freedom over their collateral compared to regular ETH 2.0 stakers who will not be able to take advantage of it if they independently manage an ETH node.